#effervescing elephant

Steve Bobinski's psychedelic interpretation of Syd Barrett's "Effervescing Elephant", a song from his second solo LP, "Barrett". A lively vivacious long-trunked pachyderm parades through a jungle teeming with beasts terrified of a treacherous tiger.

Soon after, Syd wrote his own ‘Effervescing Elephant’, shining with characteristic wit.  Like Belloc’s Cautionary Tales, a tiny fable on pride, with fatal consequences for a hapless elephant.  The jungle scenario and animals – tiger, elephant, and water bison – were redolent of Andrew Lang’s The Red Book of Animal Stories. At seventeen, Barrett showed ample wit, with deft timing and juggling ability.  ‘I did tend to take lines from other things, lines I like, and then wrote around them,’ said Barrett. ‘It was writing good songs that mattered, really.’

To Barrett, a song was to be shared, written to amuse friends. Visiting new friends, Syd brought his guitar and sang ‘Effervescing Elephant’.  Storm Thorgerson thought the song was nice, though he was not bowled over. Storm remembered ‘thinking it was really nice but not thinking he’s going to go anywhere.’

~~Julian Palacios, Dark Globe – Syd Barrett & Pink Floyd

While recording Barrett, David Gilmour realized that the best – and perhaps only – method to capture Syd’s mercurial presence on tape would be to reverse the traditional studio method of recording the backing track – drums, bass, some guitar – first.  Such an approach was largely impossible for a producer working with Syd Barrett in 1970. Instead, Gilmour rolled tape while Syd played and sang.

Jerry Shirley says that approach yielded some quality material.  Citing ‘Effervescing Elephant’ as an example, he says, “That was one of the several songs that Syd wrote as a schoolboy.  They all used to sit around and idolize him before he was famous, because he had this knack of writing songs that nobody else had.  ‘Effervescing Elephant’ was one of those that Dave reminded him of and, sure enough, he went right to it, reverted to type, and just played it.”

~~Bill Kopp, Reinventing Pink Floyd – From Syd Barrett to the Dark Side of the Moon

An effervescing elephant / With tiny eyes, and great big trunk / Once whispered to the tiny ears / The ears of one inferior / That by next June he’d die, oh yeah!

Initial sales and reaction of Barrett’s first solo album, The Madcap Laughs, were deemed ‘not bad’ by EMI to sanction a second solo album. So, on February 24, 1970, a month after releasing Madcap, Barrett appeared on John Peel’s Top Gear radio show, where he performed only one song from the newly released album (Terrapin), three that would later be recorded for Barrett (Gigolo Aunt, Baby Lemonade and Effervescing Elephant).

Effervescing Elephant was pastiche of the verse form of Hilaire Belloc’s Cautionary Tales for Children. In contrast to some of his other songs mentioning one or two animals, Effervescing Elephant contains references to a whole jungle full of animals. The video he made for it is pretty sad and depressing, and rarely seen, so here you go, sunshine!

http://www.thatericalper.com/2018/01/27/watch-syd-barretts-sad-depressing-video-effervescing-elephant/

~~That Eric Alper, January 27, 2018 -Watch Syd Barrett’s Sad And Depressing Video For “Effervescing Elephant”

Thoughts and ideas about small eyes and small rules

After a small penis

Low lacking.

It will die on June 1, yes about yes!

Tiger can work

She said: "My honor!

Laying down!

When I listen to

I want to know the roses on tigers

I believe you know

Ali, she told me. "

Everyone emphasized and so!

Information information information.

Zebra, Mongbose and Grouphot Happetamus.

Because the mushrooms and peaks

Food with hippo hippo spikes.

And can forget the words

You will not see the sheep

Yes, stupid, do?

Everyone is afraid

Night and night.

Tiger I: "What?" He said.

You know you won't hurt you

I'm better than

You are all young. "Yes!